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The basics of API

Hopeful Hoya

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
I'm doing museum detail currently and it's not bad, you get to talk to a lot of interesting people and look at cool planes all day. Plus it gets you out of being voluntold for a lot of less desirable jobs, like watching people piss or checking IDs outside of the API building for an hour.
 

JWL

Member
When you check into API you'll get assigned a stash job. I worked a few shifts a week at the museum. Some helped out at elementary schools in the area. Others worked in flight management.

I recommend the museum because its only a few days a week. The school mentoring is every day, but you don't muster in-person each morning or do A-Pool PT. Flight management is all day, everyday. They keep the show running so if you work there you are doing heroes work.
Cool..thanks.
 

Treetop Flyer

Well-Known Member
pilot
I'm doing museum detail currently and it's not bad, you get to talk to a lot of interesting people and look at cool planes all day. Plus it gets you out of being voluntold for a lot of less desirable jobs, like watching people piss or checking IDs outside of the API building for an hour.
What happens if someone doesn't feel like showing their ID?
 

Hammer10k

Well-Known Member
pilot
When I was at the ASO course a couple years ago there was some poor Ensign making tick marks on a sheet of paper for every person who came in the door. I assume he was "checking our IDs"...

Recent upgrades include a counter-clicker. The sheet of paper still exists to mark down the number of visitors each hour.
 

jpiatekR35

New Member
Does anyone have any tips for taking API tests? I’m at a loss. I studied the material, made flashcards, did study groups, and was confident in my knowledge to pass Aero I, but still failed. I looked over my test afterward and a lot of questions I overthought. I used the technique of covering the answer choices and answering the question myself first, but that seemed to slow me down a bit and made me a little pressed for time.... any recommendations to ease test anxiety and overthinking things?
 

Hammer10k

Well-Known Member
pilot
Does anyone have any tips for taking API tests? I’m at a loss. I studied the material, made flashcards, did study groups, and was confident in my knowledge to pass Aero I, but still failed. I looked over my test afterward and a lot of questions I overthought. I used the technique of covering the answer choices and answering the question myself first, but that seemed to slow me down a bit and made me a little pressed for time.... any recommendations to ease test anxiety and overthinking things?

Best API advice I can give is to type out an outline of every page of the book. This will make sure you’ve got every important idea and number covered.

Print that out and then go through each line of your outline with a different colored pencil. And then just keep skimming your outline over and over up until test time.

Typing alone takes a ton of time and may seem like a waste, but it makes you read everything slowly and multiple times. Same with the colored pencils. It’s all about repetition.
 

Uncle Fester

Robot Pimp
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Does anyone have any tips for taking API tests? I’m at a loss. I studied the material, made flashcards, did study groups, and was confident in my knowledge to pass Aero I, but still failed. I looked over my test afterward and a lot of questions I overthought. I used the technique of covering the answer choices and answering the question myself first, but that seemed to slow me down a bit and made me a little pressed for time.... any recommendations to ease test anxiety and overthinking things?

One, find a different study group.
Two, there are a lot of old versions of the exams out there; study those. The material doesn’t change and there are only so many ways to ask the questions. If you’ve seen a question asked three different ways, the fourth isn’t likely to flummox you. Plus, you get conditioned to how exam questions are asked (eg, “all of the following are true of (x), except...”)
Three, if you read the question without looking at the answers, and none of them is obviously the answer you had in your head, skip it and move on and come back to it. Otherwise you wind up agonizing over the answers and overthinking yourself into picking one or another. Plus, another question further on might jog your memory.
Four, what did you do during the exam review? Did you note down everything the instructor mentioned? The exam review happens for a reason, and that reason is the instructor wants everyone to pass. If he mentions it in the review, write. It. Down.
And five, you mentioned everything about your test prep except whether you paid attention to the instructor during the class, took notes, etc. I bring that up because I remediated a lot of kids who got through college half-listening to the prof and then trying to absorb everything from the book before the exam. I and all the instructors I worked with made sure that we covered everything that was on the exam during the classes and not much that wasn’t.

If @Hammer10k ’s technique works/ed for him, great, but I will tell you that maybe 80+% material in every API course book you don’t need to know generally and definitely don’t need to know for the exam. Use the books to back up your course notes and verify correctness of gouge. You don’t need to Cliffs Notes the whole thing, and you are unlikely to have the time. I would not recommend it as the most time-efficient technique. API is a very fast-paced course, and efficiency is far more important than universal knowledge.

Seem like this is encouraging mindless memorizing? Yeah, it kinda is. When you get flight-side you’re going to have very little time to prepare for each event. Finish debriefing one flight at 7 pm and you’re on the sked for a 9 am brief the next day and you’re expected to show up with the brief material memorized. It’s how it is, and API is the place to learn that skill.
 

jpiatekR35

New Member
I definitely was paying attention in class and I did write down all of the things that the instructor said to write down. However that information was mostly stuff for the dump sheet. I understand the memory nemonics that he gave us. I did look at gouge and I took every practice exam I could find, but none of them were really a fair representation of the exam. Most of the practice tests were made by students, but I’ll look and see if I can find some old tests. As for the review, he just showed us a power point with some practice questions on it. Some of the questions were similar and I remember getting all but like three questions right in the review. Going through the remediation I took note of what I needed to work on and now I just need a way to kill the test anxiety. Thank you all for your input!
 

Recovering LSO

Suck Less
pilot
Contributor
Do you study with a group? If so, how'd the group do? If not, start studying with a group.

Also, try writing everything down, over and over - like a kid writing sentences as punishment in grade school. There is strong scientific evidence to support the idea that some people learn best by repetitively seeing, writing, reading - there's something about the act of getting something from the brain out through the hand. Either get large dry erase board or a couple of notebooks and just spend pages and pages writing and rewriting: equations, definitions, mnemonics, etc.
 
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jpiatekR35

New Member
Yes, I was studying in a group just about every day. We basically went around and asked each other questions. I only got a couple of those wrong then went home and studied those topics.
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
I did look at gouge and I took every practice exam I could find, but none of them were really a fair representation of the exam. Most of the practice tests were made by students, but I’ll look and see if I can find some old tests.

The "pre-tests" that are out there are very (or at least were) easy to spot, as they were in the same Navy format. I wouldn't trust student made exams.

While there was the World Wide Web went I went through, it was in its infancy. I don't know where the "old tests" came from, but several in my study group had a bunch of them. Once I learned to trust them, they were laser guided accurate for about 85% of the test.

Also, listen for foot-stomping by the instructor. Also known as podium knocking. Also known as saying the same thing 3 times in a row.
 

Uncle Fester

Robot Pimp
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Marines generally have the best gouge. Study with them. Also often the Coasties.

Regarding overthinking the questions, here’s my go-to example:
11. Which of the following accurately describes the characteristics of a duck?
a. Amphibious, webbed feet, venomous fangs
b. Amphibious, anhedral wings, twin turbojets
c. Amphibious, billed mouth
d. Amphibious, dihedral wings, twin turboprops
e. a and c

Studs would look at this and say, well, I know c is accurate, but I don’t remember if they have fangs, and if they do, are they venomous? Don’t overthink. Don’t start trying to talk yourself out of the answer you knew was right. Don’t start thinking how you remember duck billed platypus has venomous spikes, and is that what they’re talking about?
 

armada1651

Hey intern, get me a Campari!
pilot
Marines generally have the best gouge. Study with them. Also often the Coasties.

Regarding overthinking the questions, here’s my go-to example:
11. Which of the following accurately describes the characteristics of a duck?
a. Amphibious, webbed feet, venomous fangs
b. Amphibious, anhedral wings, twin turbojets
c. Amphibious, billed mouth
d. Amphibious, dihedral wings, twin turboprops
e. a and c

Studs would look at this and say, well, I know c is accurate, but I don’t remember if they have fangs, and if they do, are they venomous? Don’t overthink. Don’t start trying to talk yourself out of the answer you knew was right. Don’t start thinking how you remember duck billed platypus has venomous spikes, and is that what they’re talking about?

I didn't even know until now that duck billed platypuses had venom. I must not have paid much attention in API.
 
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